Dane County Board Supv. Heidi Wegleitner says she was disgusted to hear Gov. Scott Walker refer to ultrasounds as “just a cool thing out there” when he defended a Wisconsin law that requires women seeking an abortion to get the procedure.

"His comments are consistent with his policies, which demonstrate a lack of empathy and understanding of the real struggles facing women and families," says Wegleitner, a public interest attorney.

Walker, who is expected to announce a run for president, appears to be “pandering to the far conservative right,” she adds.

Walker made his comments Friday to conservative radio host Dana Loesch on her radio show, The Dana Show. He touted his success in “defunding Planned Parenthood” and said the media tried to present the 2013 law that requires women to have an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion as a “crazy idea.”

“Most people I talk to, whether they’re pro-life or not, I find people all the time who get out their iPhone and show me a picture of their grandkids’ ultrasound and how excited they are, so that’s a lovely thing. I think about my sons, [who] are 19 and 20, we still have their first ultrasound picture. It’s just a cool thing out there. We just knew if we signed that law, if we provided the information, that more people if they saw that unborn child, would make the decision to protect the life of that unborn child.”

Walker on Thursday told Loesch that his comments were being misconstrued by the press. He said his reference to “cool” referred to the ultrasound pictures of his sons, not the procedure itself. Emails for comment to Walker’s campaign were not returned.

Wegleitner had a visceral response to Walker’s comments, which she posted to Facebook Wednesday.

“No, Governor Walker, ultrasounds are not ‘a cool thing.’ They are cold, slimy, exposing, anxious, and traumatic. And I know this because I — unlike you — have actually had many. It was at an ultrasound where I found out that the heart had stopped beating. The news delivered callously, clinically and cold. Excitement to devastation in a moment's time. I never wanted to go back to that ultrasound room. When we got pregnant again, I was incredibly fearful and anxious. This time — thank goodness — the heart kept beating.”

In an interview with Isthmus, Wegleitner says she had to undergo frequent ultrasounds because her second pregnancy was high risk. Each time it was an anxious experience. “There was nothing fun or cool about those ultrasounds,” she says.

Walker and the politicians who support policies like mandatory ultrasounds should know the real impacts of these laws on women’s lives, since stories like hers are shared during debate over legislation, Wegleitner says. But, she adds, many other people don’t necessarily understand them. “That’s why we need to highlight for the general public the impact of these ridiculous infringements on women’s health.”